Will Burroughs

head of strategyin Los Angeles, California

Will Burroughs

head of strategyin Los Angeles, California

The need to solve problems has always driven me and, while that can make me an annoying husband, I believe it’s what gave me my love of strategy. I relish sitting with people to discuss a range of ways to approach a problem and then stress-testing and massaging it until it’s tight.

But I also believe in just getting on with it; ideating on the fly, working quickly, treating strategy like an open conversation not a one-sided dictate.

It’s important to be generous with ideas, to be an “open mind that opens minds”, and to remember that strategy without execution is just PowerPoint.

In a post-digital world, we’ve moved beyond “advertising” and, as digital products become intimately connected to physical ones, brands need to leverage both in harmony. You can’t be defined as a “producer of x”; instead you must be seen as a “believer in y”, using your power and influence to change the lives of your customers.